The reserve call-up that the President ordered under-scores the
modern reality of the United States military. We can't go to war
without reservists," said freshman Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who is
also a non-drilling reservist for the U.S. Navy.

In a recent interview, Kirk said that the "war on
terrorism," prompted by the attacks on the World Trade Center
Towers and the Pentagon, could not be fought without heavy reliance on
military reservists.

"Winston Churchill said a reservist is twice a citizen. A
reservist has two critical roles in national security. He's not
paid when we don't need him, but he is there and will give
everything when we do need him," he said.

"These are no donut-eating weekend warriors," Kirk said
of the reservists he knows. "Reservists are the most experienced
doctors in the military, they have award-winning airlift teams.
Reservists fly their aircraft far more often than their active-duty
counterparts. ... Intelligence specialists are far more experienced. In
many ways, reservists dramatically enhance the capability of our
military"

Kirk, a congressman from Deerfield, Ill, who serves on the House
Armed Services Committee, is a reserve naval aviator. Kirk holds the
rank of lieutenant commander and was the intelligence officer assigned
to a squadron flying the EA-6B prowler electronic attack aircraft, until
his election to Congress in 2000.

Most recently, he served in Operation Northern Watch in 1999,
patrolling the no-fly zone over Iraq. Kirk's status as a
non-drilling reservist means that he is still "on the books,"
but isn't connected to a specific reserve squadron. He indicated
that he still wants to stay involved with the reserves somehow. "I
will seek an opportunity to help during a congressional recess. However,
my primary military duty station right now is in the Congress, to vote
for the beans and bullets necessary to carry out this war, and to
encourage my colleagues in Congress to do the same.

Greater than 70 percent of the medical capability of the armed
forces exists in the reserves, according to Dr. Richard A. Stone, a
physician in the U.S. Army Reserves.

"What the reserves do is bring to active duty
high-experienced, active physicians, nurses and critical care
specialists, who practice their military-occupational specialties every
day in the civilian world. These units are highly specialized, highly
trained and fully deployable in support of national goals of military
missions.

"Our purpose is to move as far forward on the battlefield as
possible to provide care to soldiers, who, upon being wounded would not
survive evacuation. These units stand ready for immediate call-up with
highly motivated and trained soldiers," he said.

"Their effectiveness has been proven over the last decade with
deployments in virtually every military operation that our military has
undertaken," he said.

Stone holds the rank of lieutenant colonel and serves as commander
of the 948th forward surgical team, which is part of the 88th reserve
command headquartered in Southfield, Mich. He said that his unit is
committed to serving in the upcoming conflict, and, in fact, even former
reservists with the unit have expressed that they are willing to serve.
"My reserve center on Tuesday [Sept. 11, 2001] received over 200
calls from former reservists who wanted to come back into the active
unit," he said.

Pentagon officials said that at least 35,500 reservists would be
needed for assignments in homeland defense. Up to 15,000 more could be
called in the near future. The largest share, 13,000, will come from the
Air Force Reserve. About 10,000 will be called by the Army, 3,000 by the
Navy, 7,500 by the Marines and 2,000 by the Coast Guard.

Since September 11, thousands of reservists have been on duty as
pilots, military policemen and investigators. Nearly 200 Air Force
reservists helped identify the remains of those who were killed when
hijackers crashed a commercial jetliner into the Pentagon. Coast Guard
reservists have been patrolling the harbors in New York and Los Angeles.

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